Humanity entire grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, including questions about religion and its view on the spread of epidemics and, also, appropriate ways of managing their impact on human society. Among the questions are the following: To what extent has religion engaged the coronavirus pandemic? What is the position of religion on epidemics in general? Is the current pandemic a tribulation similar to other kinds of trial? Or is it evidence of God’s punishment of disobedient sinners?

The following is a record of a conversation of two scholars of religion: Dr. Paul Heck, a Christian scholar at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, USA, and Dr. Radouane Rhenimi, a Muslim scholar at the Faculty of Law, Smara, Ibn Zohr University, Morocco. In the face of the current global crisis, the two scholars saw a benefit in coming together and discussing the views of the two religious traditions, which, while unique, interact with fruitful perspective on the purposes of religion.

First Question: One ambiguity provoked by the pandemic is that the quarantine has required closing houses of worship across the globe. What is the religious view on this decision?

Dr. Rhenimi:

Tribulations that unfold in human society can be seen as God’s way of testing and purifying humans with the purpose of elevating them spiritually. God the Exalted said in the Qur’an (The Spider): “Do people think they’ll be left after saying, ‘We believe,’ without facing tribulation?” Plagues and other trials are a kind of heavenly tribulation testing believers in their relation to their Lord, prompting them to detach from all that distances them from God by imploring and petitioning Him. However, the corona tribulation is unusual in that it has required authorities to forbid people from going to the mosque to undertake Friday prayer in community, leaving them feeling distressed, when, in fact, the essence of religion is to relieve distress and make it easy for people to preserve both bodily health and piety. Such is one of the basic aims of Islam’s teachings. However, if the preservation of religion clashes with the preservation of life, preference is given to the preservation of life, because by preserving it, we preserve religion. The loss of life is a loss for religion because the flourishing of life is the purpose of religion. The prohibition of communal prayer on Friday is based on the urgent need to preserve life completely. To forfeit a piece of the religion—prayer in community—is not to abandon religion. Prayer, the invocation of God, and recitation of scripture and the divine names all continue. Community prayer completes religion, but it’s not the whole of religion. In contrast, there’s nothing partial about preserving life. It is a general and essential principle of existence. The prohibition of communal worship is thus a religious ruling at this moment. Failure to comply with it is to act against religion.

Dr. Heck:

Human anxiety increases during epidemics, and so, too, the human need to respond to the spiritual desire for inner tranquility and security. This need awakens us to our own piety and manner of worship. This is good. However, some believers in the United States and other countries have insisted on the right to pray in community in spite of the order to close houses of worship. They think that community prayer at time of tribulation is evidence of divine favor. In other words, they pray out of pride, seeking to show that they enjoy higher rank with God in comparison to the rest of society—and even at the expense of society. The act as if they can show they’re justified. In truth, this prayer, by religion’s standards, is not prayer but conceit. Christ said in the Gospel as narrated by Matthew: “If you pray, don’t do as the hypocrites, who love to pray in public places and crossroads so that people might see them. Truly, I tell you, they’ve gotten their reward.” That is, they’re only working on their worldly reputation, not their religious piety.

Second question: To what extent is it possible to speak of mercy in religious teachings on epidemics and their effects?

Dr. Rhenimi:

The entirety of religion is mercy. Did not a religion come to rescue humanity from the darkness of ignorance and bring it into the light of the mercy of its Lord? We speak in Islam about religious instruction in normal times and in exceptional times, as in the case of epidemics. All rulings are suspended in time of necessity—as a mercy for believers, because preservation of their lives is the most sacred thing. The Messenger of God (God’s peace and blessing upon him) said: “The destruction of the Ka‘ba in Mecca, stone by stone, is a lighter matter to me than that a Muslim be killed.” He also said: “The end of the world is a lighter matter to God the Mighty and Majestic than the spilling of the blood of a Muslim unjustly.” Religion offers legitimate dispensations at time of need. For example, fasting, even if a pillar of religion, is not obligatory for pregnant women, nursing mothers, the elderly, and those traveling—as a mercy for them. God the Exalted said in the Qur’an (The Women): “Don’t kill yourselves. God is merciful towards you.” Dr. Heck:

The essence of religion is mercy, for it calls all people to undertake acts of kindness towards one another, especially on behalf of the poor and needy. The emphasis of religion on acts of mercy helps society retain its humanity in the face of the terror of epidemic. Pope Francis says in a recent book that Merciful is the greatest name of God. The believer in God is thus called to look at the world with the gaze of mercy in witness of God’s mercy, as Christ said at the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the merciful because they know mercy.” It’s worth noting that healing is a divine attribute, following from God’s mercy. May all believers across the globe double their efforts to help heal society of the effects of this epidemic. Doing so will plant a sense of mercy in the hearts of all people.

Third Question: Is it permissible in this crisis to talk of divine punishment? Or is it better to give people hope and speak to them about divine mercy? And if divine mercy is actually present, what are the ways it should appear in the behavior of people today according to the teachings of religion?

Dr. Rhenimi:

I find people, in the face of this epidemic, divided in two camps. The first is grateful for the epidemic, seeing it as God’s punishment of the disobedient. They take joy and delight in the affliction of others, as if it justifies them, but this is at odds with Muhammadan guidance, which prohibits us from taking joy in the affliction of people. The second is a callousness that encourages despair and despondency, distancing people from God’s mercy for them. This second camp spreads melancholy among people and is thus at odds with the essence of the religion, which came to give people hope; spreading misery is not the practice of the believer. The prophet (God’s peace and blessing upon him) warned against such callous thinking,

saying, “Whoever says the people are doomed is the most doomed of them.” And he assigned a reward for patience in tribulation, saying, “Wondrous is the affair of the believer. His entire affair is goodness, and that for none other than the believer. If prosperity is given him and he is grateful, that’s goodness for him. And if hardship strikes him and he bears it patiently, that is goodness for him.” Among the ways in which mercy should appear among people today is in being committed to the protective measures which are vital for our well-being. All believers should know that staying at home is not simply a protective measure that doctors and specialists of epidemics and viruses request. It is a religious duty, a kind of religiosity, and a mercy by which to ward off harm from others.

Dr. Heck:

It is not true that the plague is expression of divine wrath because the tribulation of evil strikes the righteous as well as the corrupt. Christ rejected this illusion (infliction as divine punishment) in the Gospel as narrated by Luke: “And those upon whom the tower fell and were killed? Do you suppose they were more sinful than the rest of Jerusalem?” Epidemic is evil, no doubt, but at the same time it pushes people to think about the divine presence at work in creation. It is mentioned in the Psalms that all of creation is invited to glorify God, but worldly preoccupations make us forget this truth. There’s no doubt that inattention to the divine presence in creation leads to the violation of creation, contributing to the appearance and spread of epidemics. Thus, plague isn’t evidence of punishment but awakens us to God’s plan within creation. Attention to God’s plan within creation leads humans to order their priorities. Many have awakened to this, becoming less selfish and even hastening to ask about the needs of others before their own, thereby witnessing to God’s mercy for creation.

The Fourth Question: How has religion—in history—engaged with instances of epidemic. Has it been effectively present?

Dr. Rhenimi:

The presence of religion and religious practice is found in human existence from the time of Adam (peace be upon him). In addition, religion has been present to humans, whether in comfort or in distress, including times of epidemic. Islam is a realistic religion, engaging the life of the people, and its instructions at times of trial are always present, whether in the texts of revelation or the interpretations of religious scholars. For example, the prophet (God’s peace and blessing upon him) called for quarantine at the time of epidemic out of zeal for the welfare of the healthy, lest contagion strike them, saying, “If you hear about a plague in a land, don’t enter it, and if it’s in a land where you are, don’t leave it.” He (God’s peace and blessing upon him) also said, “The sick one isn’t to be taken to the healthy one.” And he (God’s blessing and peace upon him) said, “Flee from the leper as if you’re fleeing from the lion.” Dr. Heck:

History has many stories that witness to the power of religion during plagues and the readiness of believers to sacrifice wealth and sometimes life in order to care for the afflicted. Among the most distinct of these stories in Christianity is that of Saint Charles Borromeo, who took responsibility for the needs of all the people when the ruling class had fled the effects of the epidemic that swept through northern Italy in the sixteenth century. In this way, the life of the believer points to the endurance of goodness at a time when many wonder about its existence. It is the life of faith that inspires the rest of society to cling to goodness and continue to hope in God’s goodness. Among Christian teachings that prompt believers to act with compassion at times of epidemic, without expecting anything in return, instead of taking refuge in wealth, is the invitation to mercy in a passage from the First Letter of John: “Whoever has worldly goods and sees his brother in need but turns from him, how can the love of God be in that person?” All these things show that society at times of epidemic would fragment without religion, which calls believers to be zealous for the good of all.

The Fifth Question: As the crisis intensifies in some places, we hear the strange idea that it’s necessary to sacrifice a certain sector of society—the elderly—in order to rescue another sector on the basis of the claim that the latter is the active sector. What is the religious view of this idea and claim?

Dr. Rhenimi:

Islam emphasizes special concern for the weak in society out of mercy for them, whatever the cause of their weakness, such as being elderly. Islam makes honoring the elderly a way to magnify God the Exalted. The Messenger of God (God’s peace and blessing upon him) said, “A part of glorifying God the Exalted is honoring the elderly Muslim.” Revealed instruction considers care for the elderly as a way to gain God’s limitless mercy. The Prophet (God’s peace and blessing upon him) said,

“You’ll be provisioned and supported by the weak among you.” In addition, the idea of sacrificing one sector to preserve another is tantamount to homicide because humans don’t die as a result of the coronavirus per se or any other virus but by the decree of God. The idea that we need to sacrifice one sector is opposed to the truth of faith, which calls us to surrender to God’s plan. It also shows disrespect for the Lord since it implies that we determine who has the right to live, to say nothing of it being expression of ingratitude to parents and grandparents. ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab, may God be pleased with him, said, “There are three whom only the hypocrite disdains: the scholar who offers advice, the elderly, and the just ruler.” Dr. Heck:

God Almighty calls us to preserve religion at time of epidemic as at time of ease. The greatest religious goal in Christianity is to spur people to acts of mercy, including care of the vulnerable and weaker members of society. Christ spoke of this in the Gospel as narrated by Matthew: “Whatever goodness you do to one of my brethren, these the smallest (i.e. the weakest), you do to me.” There’s also worldly wisdom in that statement: Society confirms its humanity to the extent of its cares for all its members, especially the weak, since the weak, no less than the strong, is created in the image of God, that is, oriented by nature to the Face of God the Creator of all. Therefore, the weak have dignity by nature, which isn’t to be violated for the sake of expediency. One who claims that sacrificing a group of people is necessary in order to preserve the common good actually undermines his own humanity, since he shows that he prefers the law of the jungle over the nobility of human morals.